Compassion Meditation

Last week, Richard Rohr quoted the following passage on “Compassionate Meditation.”  A practice I was not aware of but which engaged me:

Thich Nhat Hanh and other Buddhist practitioners recommend that we regularly engage in a Compassion Meditation that is also known as metta or loving-kindness.…

May you be happy.

May you be blessed.

May you be free and peaceful.

May you be ever loved.

May you be always loving.

Now repeat the exercise, this time picturing someone you hardly know. Wish them the same loving desires. You may choose someone you saw on the bus, someone in the supermarket or a church group, or perhaps someone you’ve read about in the news. Make the image clear and pray for them as sincerely as you can. Your goal is to open to them/give them their humanity. 

I can see how this would be a powerful practice for being compassionate and helping someone to be more compassionate.  To riff on Burt Bacharach, what the world needs now is love, sweet love. Compassion is one of the expressions of love.   

I can also see how it would be a is a means in which Christians can practice the great commandment of Jesus Crist to love one another as he loves us – and that includes our enemies as Jesus so inconveniently declares.  Yes, that is not a typo – inconveniently for Christians – as it is, at least for me – as Jesus is commanding me to do what seems to be impossible. 

To do this as a part of compassionate meditation, what I suggest is a third step which would be for someone who is, or seems to you to be your enemy:

Now repeat the exercise, this time picturing someone you consider your enemy. Wish them the same loving desires. You may choose someone who is currently in your life, someone who is no longer physically a part of your life, but who has injured you deeply in the past, or someone in the news who is not directly in your life. Make the image clear and pray for them as sincerely as you can. Your goal is to open to them/give them their humanity. 

I hope that you will try this several times as see what happens.  I am going to do this as part of my daily practice this week.  Also, do not forget to do this for yourself.  It is important that you show yourself compassion.  

May you be blessed to give and receive compassion on your journey. 

News and Views October 19, 2015

Well, it’s finally here!  It seemed like it was a neverendum referendum but it was actually an election campaign—albeit the longest in modern Canadian history.  I will not talk about who you should vote for—this is not the forum for that.  However I will suggest strongly that you do vote—exercise your civic responsibility and duty to vote today if you haven’t already.  It is a true privilege to live in a country where we can vote and in which our vote will count—despite the imperfections of the first-past-the post system.  Canada was not founded through armed revolution like our good neighbours to the south and we can be assured that the voting will be done according to the rules, now that robocall scandal has been dealt with.   We can also be assured that the results of the election will be respected by our elected and appointed officials. So vote as if our future depended on it—because it does.  The greatest threat to our democracy is the indifference and apathy of the electorate who can’t be bothered to vote.

On the subject of the elected, we Christians do have a special concern regarding election.  We are the elect.  However, don’t let is go to your head.  To be the elect in this sense means to be chosen by Christ.  That may mean we are special but more to the point it means that we have a special responsibility to put God’s will ahead of other things especially our will.  We are called to put aside our selfish and egotistical desires and make a special effort to truly discern God’s will which can indeed be a challenge.  We often mistakenly conflate our will with God’s will.  We need to turn to Jesus Christ as the ultimate authority on God’s will and follow his great commandment to love one another as he loves us and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.    I delve into this in my sermon from yesterday which is posted separately.  I hope you will find it thought provoking but before delving into it get a out and vote if you haven’t already.  Peace,
Greg